Stutes best choice for District 32To the Editor, Louise Stutes is the top choice for District 32 to represent us in Juneau. I am here in Kodiak for 50 years and have seen and listened to all candidates all these years and have observed them and found the only one that is honest and knowledgeable is Louise Stutes. She listens to the people and studies everything before she votes on issues. She is a wise voter on all issues. She is the only mature p...

Repeal the resource giveawayTo the Editor, Regarding Prop 1, vote yes to repeal the resource giveaway! Big oil has spent millions of dollars trying to hoodwink the citizens by their propaganda. I remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill as though it was yesterday and I remember all too well how the citizens of Alaska were treated. Big oil was negligent and dragged out their responsibility to the citizens for damages for decades and now they want ...

Mead Treadwell is our best betTo the Editor: As a lifelong Alaskan connected to the seafood industry, I have always voted for the person I believed would be best for Alaska's state and federal fisheries. I grew up in Bristol Bay fishing salmon. My sons and now my grandchildren are sharing in that experience. For 26 years, I’ve also had the privilege of representing commercial fishermen in the state and federal regulatory process. This Primary ...

Vote ‘yes’ on TuesdayTo the Editor, This upcoming Tuesday, Aug. 19, is a very important election day for Alaska voters. On this date Alaskans will vote on whether to reject, or not, the diverting of over $1 billion annually of oil royalties from the State of Alaska treasury to BigOil shareholders. For some, this appears to be a “complex issue”; I would suggest otherwise. Based on the following, I would offer the following three (3) po...

Letter to the Editor: Austerman retreating from decorum ordinanceEditor: It has come to my attention that Carol Austerman is now retreating from the decorum ordinance and is saying that everyone “misinterpreted” what the assembly was trying to do and, golly gee, this was just about protecting staff. While investigating this issue, I listened to the audio of every single borough meeting – regular meetings and work sessions – from May 1 to July 31. Not only did I not hear any att...

Letter to the Editor: Stutes is the person for District 32Letter to the Editor, Here are a few of the reasons why I support Louise Stutes to represent our community in Juneau. 1. I went to the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly meetings when the "Roll Cart" issue was being discussed. Ms. Stutes kept bringing up the issue of the bears and how the roll carts were not "bear proof". She expressed her concerns over the cost of the new garbage pick up plan and making the burden fa...

Letter to the Editor: Character and Ethics trump friendshipTo the Editor, As I understand it Carol Austerman twice had the opportunity to vote to stop payments made to assembly member Chris Lynch — on Oct. 4, 2012, and again on Oct. 18, 2012. The assembly made a motion to stop any further actions or payments to Chris Lynch under contract No. FY-2012-24. Borough records show Carol Austerman voted “No” to suspend this contract and stop all payments to Chris Lynch. On Feb 7,...

Letter to the Editor: Why rush to pump more oil ?To the Editor, Proposition One, an Alaskan resident citizen's Initiative was placed on the ballot after more than 50,000 Alaskans signed the Referendum Petition last summer. Only 30,000 signatures were required. The cost to Alaskans is 1 to 2 BILLION dollars per year. It goes into the already bloated profits of the oil companies! BigOil has promised nothing in return. BigOil is flooding the advertising media with ...

Austerman does her homeworkCarol Austerman will get my vote on Aug. 19. Carol has proven to me that I can trust her judgment, her willingness to work for her community. What I like in regards to her work on the Borough Assembly is her enthusiasm to bring our community forward, she supported major improvements to our quality of life in Kodiak by advocating for the new high school, the new nursing home, the swimming pool and especially contin...

Austerman supports our communityDear Editor, As a lifelong Alaskan, with 40 years calling Kodiak home, I would like to say how pleased I am that we have so many candidates willing to represent our district in Juneau. It takes a selfless spirit to be willing to represent your community as an elected official, and I admire each candidate for that. I would like to encourage you to vote for Carol Austerman. Carol and I grew up here and attended Kodi...